Up the Hakone mountains by an old railway, followed by a a series of trams and cable cars, and you’ll find yourself in a gorgeous scenic crater lake, with Mount Fuji hiding between the mountains on a clear day.
As far as lakes go, this doesn’t get much better than that. Although Tokyo was boiling hot at 36c, the Lake Ashi was a comfortable 25 degrees with fair winds and beautiful skies, just the getaway I needed from urban Tokyo.
When you reach the lake, you’ll find medieval sailing vessels to take you across the lake to all the nearby attractions.
I had the Hakone Free Pass which included free boat trips across the lakes to specific spots.
The whole area is breath-taking, and the 30 minutes boat ride exhilarating. I wasn’t lucky enough to catch Mount Fuji, but that just leaves me wanting to come back for more.
More on the area attraction to soon follow…
More info on the beautiful Lake Ashi: